NEW DELHI: To encourage farmers for the cultivation of pulses, Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah launched a portal for the procurement of tur dal to help farmers sell their produce at the minimum support price (MSP) fixed by the Centre.
The initiative aims not only to facilitate the sale of farmers’ produce at the MSP, but also to foster self-reliance in pulse production, thereby addressing the challenge of substantial pulse imports that soared to 1.9 million tonnes in 2023.
“Tur dal will be procured from farmers and it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s guarantee,” Shah said, addressing a national symposium on ‘self-reliance in pulses’. He outlined an ambitious target of achieving self-reliance in pulse production by December 2027, with the ultimate aim of eliminating any need for pulse imports from January 2028.
Through this e-samridhi portal, farmers can register and sell their produce to National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF) at a minimum support price or market price.
A similar facility will be launched in future for urad and masoor farmers as well as maize farmers, said the minister, who also transferred, via direct benefit transfer, about Rs 68 lakh to the accounts of 25 farmers who had sold tur through the portal.